Defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies whereby people protect themselves from anxious thoughts or feelings.
10 Major Defense Mechanisms
Projection : Attributing one’s unacceptable feelings or desires to someone else. For example, if a bully constantly ridicules a peer about insecurities, the bully might be projecting his own struggle with self-esteem onto the other person .
Denial : Refusing to recognize or acknowledge real facts or experiences that would lead to anxiety . For instance, someone with substance use disorder might not be able to clearly see his problem.
Repression : Blocking difficult thoughts from entering into consciousness, such as a trauma survivor shutting out a tragic experience.
Regression : Reverting to the behavior or emotions of an earlier developmental stage.
Theories of Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are rooted in Freud’s theory of personality . According to his model, the mind has three dueling forces: the id ( unconscious and primitive urges for food, comfort, and sex), the superego (a partly conscious drive toward moral and social values), and the ego (a partly conscious force that moderates the id and superego).
Anxiety, in this paradigm, emerges when the needs of the id clash with the needs of the superego. To mitigate the tension, the ego deploys strategies of self-deception to avoid the discomfort. The unacceptable thought or emotion may be denied, for example, or rationalized or projected onto someone else.
Many of Freud’s ideas have not stood up to modern scientific scrutiny. But psychological defenses have proven to be an enduring concept, one that researchers and clinicians continue to explore today.
In a testament to the intuitive appeal and potential utility of the idea of psychological defenses, multiple post- Freudian theorists and researchers independently converged on the same concept. Alfred Adler developed a similar idea of “safeguarding strategies,” while Karen Horney described protective strategies used by children of abusive or neglectful parents. Leon Festinger developed the well-known concept of “ cognitive dissonance ,” Carl Rogers discussed the process of defense as denial and perceptual distortion, and Albert Bandura conceptualized defenses as “self-exoneration mechanisms.”
Defense Mechanisms in Everyday Life
Life is full of unexpected or challenging situations, and defense mechanisms can potentially alleviate that discomfort. They can manifest, for example, in passive-aggressive behavior when two friends can’t confront conflict or when an employee displaces anger toward her boss onto her daughter that night at dinner. Defense mechanisms can reflect isolated incidents, both beneficial and maladaptive, or a consistent pattern of behavior that can be explored with the help of a therapist.
Defense mechanisms might emerge more severely and consistently in some people due to insecurities in childhood , some psychologists believe. Children may not know how to grapple with or overcome certain challenges, which leads them to question themselves and enact defenses against those challenges. Adults have the ability to address those challenges, but obsolete defense mechanisms might occasionally reappear to alleviate the stress.
Close relationships often arouse our deepest emotions, and sometimes we turn to defenses to manage those emotions. Yet this can lead to more anxiety by driving a wedge into the relationship, so it’s valuable to reflect on whether you or your partner use certain defenses. These include:
• Projection: Do you blame your partner for your own flaws? Rather than admit it, do you accuse your partner of being messy or careless?
Explore More About Defense Mechanisms
For a comprehensive understanding of defense mechanisms, read our complete guide: